Originally published at: San Francisco delays cannabis tax so that dispensaries can compete with illegal dealers | Boing Boing
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Is growing your own legal? Cut out the middleman. I mean, Hemp is a pretty easy plant to grow. I guess that would smack of Communism, with the users owning the means of production.
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I can grow my own vegetables and brew my own beer… But I still buy at the grocery store all the time.
Growing weed is easy. Growing good weed, not so much.
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I don’t know the weed law, but some states do allow it, I believe. You just can’t sell it.
I imagine if weed was otherwise legal, if you grow some in your house, who is going to know?
But as someone who grew up helping out with huge gardens during the 80s recession - it is a PITA and so much easier to go buy a bag of carrots. I can’t imagine most people wanting to do it, unless they enjoy gardening.
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As one who bought illegally in Kansas way back in the 80s, I paid much more per gram then than I do now legally in San Diego. I can’t grasp how a 1 to 5% tax is such a detriment to buying it these days, unless it’s about earning power in 2021.
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Is the illegal weed trade more streamlined now and thus cheaper on the streets? Even if it costs the same to make, if you are selling it on the street you don’t have to deal with any overhead or taxes, so you should be able to undercut the price. Though, to what degree?
In general I am not for targeted “sin” taxes that single out specific products. Sale tax is fine.
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I mean…for the $30 eighth I bought last week, a 5% tax would be $1.50. You can’t even buy a hamburger for that in many places. 
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It’s not that hard though. If you can grow tomatoes, you can grow weed.
And then you are stuck with one strain. I prefer the variety that I can get at a dispensary
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That is true.
And a lot of the weed dealing overhead undoubtedly came from dealers giving themselves hazard pay for it being illegal. Without that, I can see how prices end up dropping now that the barrier to entry for competing dealers is lower.
I wonder if price is the only deterrent to buying “legit” though. I would be paranoid about what the state knows about me if I bought in a dispensary, particularly with this being a new (and geographically selective) social and legal change that can feel precarious.
Here in WA they only take cash and just check ID for age. Nothing really gets tracked to the state.
I’ve also purchased in CA and it was the same. I would much rather buy from a dispensary where I know there is quality control and not from some shady dealer.
Edit: also, happy to pay the taxes to help legitimize the whole thing.
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With a literal closet just understand how young plants express sex, start cloning, and you can grow 4 strains at a time… in more space, or in a greenhouse the sky’s the limit.
Sure let me just build a green house in my back yard where the neighbors can see I grow weed or make the house smell with all the extra closet space I have.
Again, still easier to buy it at a store.
That reminds me of a story. There was this kid who worked at Walmart, Dudley, who was a stockman. His mom worked with me in Electronics.
I find out Dudley got in huge trouble because she figured out that all but one of the plants he was growing in his closet weren’t tomatoes, but weed plants.
I had to chuckle at the news of this. I mean, anyone who has met Dudley would instantly question his sudden interest in growing cherry tomatoes for what one would assume be a refreshing salad in the winter.
And what percentage of the tomato-eating public grow their own instead of just purchasing them at a supermarket or local farmers’ market?
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I can’t grow anything except annoyed that I can’t grow anything.
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Illinois only allows you to grow weed if you have a prescription. Even then you are limited to five plants per household. You cannot grow recreational weed.
I don’t smoke but I enjoy gardening and looked into it briefly. Thought it would be fun.
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The money, and the choice, are yours 
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